Max Bialystock

Max Bialystock is one of the two producers referred to in the play's title. As one song points out, Bialystock was once the "King of Broadway." When the story opens, however, he is washed-up, having produced a string of flops so terrible that they regularly do not make it past the first performance. The theater showing his current work, Funny Boy!, even had a special sign made up for Bialystock's works, with "Opening Night" on one side and "Closing Night" on the other, to save time. The only way that Bialystock has been able to put shows on at all is by romancing lonesome old ladies, who invest in his shows in exchange for his companionship. He keeps a cabinet of photos of these ladies, bringing out one at a time, making each woman believe she is special to him.